Month: October 2016

If you had any idea what you're talking about, you'd know that the top aftermarket offroad companies make VASTLY superior products compared to what Toyota is offering on the TRD Pro. The OE parts that come with the package are manufactured to fit within a tight budget set by Toyota management. A good aftermarket kit would supply strong, tubular steel control arms with uniball joints. Additionally, a true kit would probably ditch those junk drum brakes out back. Instead, Toyota opted for the same weak stamped steel control arms with standard ball joints. They also skimped on skid plates under the truck. The transfer case still hangs too low and lacks a shield, unless you consider the exhaust pipe that hangs just bellow it a proper shield. Yes, the exhaust hangs down 2-3" below even the frame crossmember.

The Scrambler uses the same 1,170cc oilhead Boxer twin motor that—while Euro 4 compliant—produces the same 108.6 horsepower at 7,750 rpm at the crankshaft as its Roadster predecessor that’s still only good for Euro 3, and gives just 2.2 lb-ft less torque with 85.6 lb-ft on tap at 6,000 rpm. That’s some achievement by BMW’s R&D team, since there are no mechanical differences between the two bikes’ engines, apart from what’s surely a key factor in the Scrambler hitting the Euro 4 numbers with minimal loss in performance—the glorious-sounding, high-level Akrapovic exhaust system it carries as stock. This retains the same headers as the R nineT, but with twin stacked pseudo-SuperTrapp silencers whose droning exhaust note sounds more flat track than scrambler, and undoubtedly adds to the definite thrill you get from riding this motorcycle any place, any time.

In keeping with the old-school vibe of the R nineT Scrambler, there are no riding aids or traction control, while the instrument cluster is a single analogue speedometer with an LCD display showing the odometer and other pertinent riding information. Coming with a more relaxed riding position, taller handlebars are fitted with less padding in the seat, and foot pegs set lower to the rear.

The car looks the part too, and I really can’t put my finger on why. Is it the lowered stance (courtesy of Tein coilovers and 18” Rays alloys), the dark blue color scheme, or is it the big Blitz intercooler peeking out of the front bumper? All of it, as it turns out. The exterior all comes together and gives a road presence that turns heads everywhere. And this is no garage queen either, goes to show that in the hands of the right person the car can still look factory fresh, despite being driven daily through thick and thin, not to mention traffic consisting of busses, rickshaws and random jay-walking pedestrians. If that random jay-walking pedestrian is a JDM enthusiast though, it’s very likely that a sudden stop in the middle of the road to gawk at this beaut will result in a swift but happy death under its polished wheels.

The overhaul, dubbed Font Awesome 5 , that Gandy wants to finance through a Kickstarter campaign adds a lot of welcome fine tuning. There will also be a new — though not free — Pro version with features like scalable (SVG) icons, icon font ligature (so that type looks more professional) and more than 1,000 new icons.

The reason you have not seen a review, however cursory, of a Honda Stream is because you probably failed to buy the paper on the material day I wrote it. For your sake I will repeat it (more or less). It is becoming fairly common so parts are easily available. It is very efficient, this car. However: try not to pursue Exigas in it if you want to maintain its teetotalling tendencies. While maintenance costs are not exactly punitive (given the car’s reliability), keep an eye peeled for profiteering seekers of fast money who will regale you with tall tales about how you need platinum plugs with four electrodes that sell for three grand apiece. You don’t need them – ordinary plugs will do.

“The widespread rise in foreclosure activity in the third quarter compared to a year ago is the result of two starkly different trends taking place,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “In states such as New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York, a flood of deferred distress from the last housing crisis is finally spilling over the legislative and legal dams that have held back some foreclosure activity for years. On the other hand, in states such as Texas, Michigan and Washington, the third quarter increases are a sign that the foreclosure market has settled into a normalized pattern close to or even below pre-crisis levels, and in those states the overall housing market should easily absorb the additional foreclosure activity with little impact on home values.”

Being a detail freak, Shareq went after the best of everything for the build. A basic shell was bought locally and a top off the line Tourer V was purchased in Japan that was cut up in pieces and shipped home. He got lucky in that too. The donor car came with a sunroof, TRD exhaust, and TEIN coilovers, which, if purchased separately, would have cost a fortune. Shareq and his friends built up quite a few cars simultaneously – an Evo VI, a hawk-eye STi and this X100 V. To get the JDM spec aftermarket parts that any car guy would drool over, the bunch flew off to KL. For his car, Shareq got Defi gauges, Apexi boost controller, HKS Blow off valve and a full Kakimoto exhaust, all the way from the downpipe to the muffler.

“Significant damage was caused to a vehicle belonging to one of my clients as a consequence of the defective engine design that prevented inspection and maintenance of the timing chain and required extensive repair costing around €6,600. My client noticed a loss of power, and went straight to a garage. Initially, BMW said that they would cover the cost of repairs, but they then discovered that the damage was more than they initially thought.

For the money, equipment is decent; Toyota meets the minimum requirement of offering the decent number of airbags (7) whilst also throwing in electronic stability control and reverse camera as standard. That being said, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert, both of which are available in the Camry Hybrid , are absent here. For vehicles the size of the Alphard and Vellfire, these two features are no luxuries, they are necessities – the blind spots of these vehicles are huge; big enough to fully obscure any Kancil or Kelisa foolish enough to tailgate one of them.